The Cross In The Closet

"The Cross in the Closet" by Timothy Kurek is a cross between Dan Millman's "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" and "The Matrix." Spurred by his self-disgust to his reaction to one of his friends coming out to him, Kurek, a straight, bigoted, conservative Christian, assumed the life of a gay man for one year to rid himself of his homophobia. Kurek took the red pill, went down the rabbit hole and had his reality turned inside out.

This book is a personal account of the radical path Kurek took to discover himself and his relationship with God. At its core, it's the story of a human being who learns how to see the world through his heart. It's about Kurek's journey into learning how to see people for who they are outside of their labels, and in the process, he deconstructs the labels that he used to define himself and his conservative religious upbringing.

Whether you are religious or not, LGBT or not, "The Cross in the Closet" moves you to question how you see yourself and others, how you forgive and hold onto anger, how you heal and how you choose to open or close your heart to yourself and the people in your life. Through Kurek, we see a raw transformation of how he peeled back his fears, insecurities and ignorance through opening himself up to vulnerability, curiosity and love.

"The Cross in the Closet" is filled with noticeable grammar and editing problems, but the power of the content and Kurek's storytelling abilities more than make up for it.

This book is a small glimpse into the diversity of LGBT culture and people. No two people experience something the same, and Kurek's experience of taking on the label of gay doesn't fully portray the experiences of the people or the subcultures that make up the entire queer spectrum. Nonetheless, this book can help a lot of people to better understand the stigma and injustice that LGBT people face, and it can help people to see LGBT individuals as we are, as human beings with an identity that is fuller than our sexual orientation or gender identity. I would take this book for what it is, one straight person's experience of assimilating into LGBT culture, taking on the label of gay.

This book offers us the experience of witnessing an avid anti-gay advocate transform into a powerful ally. For anybody who is on the fence about LGBT people, for family and friends of LGBT people, for existing allies, for people who struggle with the coexistence of their or someone else's sexual identity and their faith, for the LGBT community, I recommend this book.

"The Cross in the Closet"Timothy KurekBlueHead Publishing $16.99

Emelina Minero writes for Curve Magazine. She also runs two online communities: Community Bucket List, which helps people to achieve their goals and live their passions and the Love Warrior Community, which helps people to cultivate self-love and body acceptance.